PA Body Shop Owner Imposters Accused of Insurance Fraud
Editor's Note: This article has been updated from its original 4/3 publication to note the two body shops existed only on paper to facilitate the fraud.
Owners of two Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, auto body repair shops that existed only in name and a former furniture store manager are accused by the Attorney General’s Office of submitting years of fraudulent insurance claims, according to multiple regional news outlets.
According to court documents which WPMT FOX43 obtained, over a dozen charges have been filed in Cumberland County Magisterial District Judge Kathryn Silcox’s office against Kevin Hartung, 45, of Somerset; Kwa’rai Samuel, 24, of New Bloomfield; and Lori Retus, 50, of Dillsburg. These charges include but are not limited to, stolen identity, fraudulent information to insurance companies, corruption, and more.
LKR Autobody & Repair and Hoppers Foreign Autobody & Repair are also facing felonies in the case. Investigators discovered those two business entities existed only on paper to facilitate the fraud.
The charges come after a grand jury investigation revealed that the alleged scammers worked together to steal $300,998.23 from insurance companies by submitting fake claims.
According to ABC27, investigators stated in many of the audio recordings, Samuel changed the inflection of his voice when acting as a different person. In at least one recording, Samuel allegedly pretended to be a female by changing his voice to a higher-pitched tone.
All three will have hearings set for April 11.
